Woman charged in attack with stiletto heel

SAN FRANCISCO

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, September 12, 2009

San Francisco prosecutors have charged an alleged gang leader's girlfriend with beating a woman with a high-heel shoe because the victim's brother cooperated with police investigating the 2008 killings of a father and his two sons.

Sally Melendez, 27, allegedly used her stiletto heel to commit the June 7 attack on the woman outside a South of Market nightclub.

Police say Melendez, an alleged member of the notoriously violent MS-13 gang, accused the woman of being a "snitch" during the attack.

Last year, the woman's brother, Douglas Largaespada, himself an alleged member of MS-13, told police that suspected gang member Edwin Ramos was responsible for the June 22, 2008, slayings of 48-year-old Tony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16.

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After being arrested, Ramos denied firing the shots from a car as the Bolognas drove home from a weekend family outing. Ramos pointed to the gang's alleged leader, Wilfredo "Flaco" Reyes, as having opened fire while Ramos drove.

Authorities believe the shooter mistook one of the younger Bolognas for a rival gang member.

Police went after Reyes after talking with Ramos, but Reyes is believed to have left the city. When they raided his home, they questioned Melendez.

Police say she was still seething when, on June 7, she spotted Largaespada's sister at the nightclub at 11th and Folsom streets. Melendez and another woman allegedly connected to the gang attacked the sister, calling her and Largaespada snitches, police said.

The victim was left with four holes in her face from where Melendez's stiletto heel landed, police said.

Melendez was arrested in late July and faces charges of assault and intimidating a witness. She is free on bail. The woman who was with her has not been charged.

Melendez has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney, Joe O'Sullivan, said she "is being harassed because they are after her boyfriend, Flaco."

Largaespada, meanwhile, remains in federal custody on charges related to his alleged role in the gang. He has not been charged in the Bologna killings.

Ramos is awaiting trial on three counts of murder. Prosecutors said Thursday that they would not seek the death penalty against him.